The Last Of Us: 5 Reasons It’s Awesome

The Last Of Us is a pretty good game. Around 15-20 hours is needed to complete the game a first time, and while the game has its ups and downs, it overall delivers a satisfying experience to gamers. Developed by Naughty Dogs, the creators of the highly acclaimed Uncharted series, much was anticipated from this title. For the most part, it delivers, and this article is looking into the top 5 reasons why The Last Of Us is awesome. A word of warning though, this article will contain SPOILERS for the game. So proceed with caution. The points in this article are also displayed in this video:

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5) Satisfying Melee

Right off the bat you’ll realise a few things with The Last Of Us’ melee attacks: there’s a variety of them and they pack a mean punch. Whether you equip yourself with a proper melee weapon, equip a brick or bottle, or simply rely on your fists, there’s a sense of satisfaction from executing melee attacks. This is an important point, as melee becomes a strategic tool in order to conserve your ammo in the game, especially during the early stages. The other great aspect to melee attacks is that punches have Joel reacting to his surroundings. So you’ll end up crushing an enemies head against a nearby wall or onto a concrete slab. All this adds more weight to the melee combat.

4) Satisfying Weapons

The further you get into the game, the more weapons you will obtain. The majority of these weapons are, like the melee system, satisfying to use. We’re talking about both the weapons and the bombs that you can create in game. It’s very satisfying to strategically use your bombs to take out a bunch of enemies or to provide cover with a smoke bomb. The weapons themselves are great to use too. The shotgun, bow and flamethrower being personal favourites. The best part of the game in terms of weapon though, is the fact that you really have to rely on what you have, because you can’t rely on just one weapon or just one strategy all the time. The game is cheap with ammo and so you have to adapt to the situation and utilise whatever ammo is at your disposal. That’s awesome.

3) Dialogue Between Joel And Ellie

Joel and Ellie and the main characters in The Last Of Us. They are the only two characters that really accompany you throughout the game, with everyone else who you meet coming and going for various reasons. Thus, their interactions were vitally important in order for the gamer to remain invested in the story. And they delivered. Whether it be during the cutscenes or during the in-game moments where you can talk to others, the dialogue between the two shines. You easily develop an understanding towards both characters and as time moves on, how they come to rely on each other. It is a poignant tale of two people brought together in such a disparaging situation. From the lighthearted moments to the darker tones, each moment in the game is delivered brilliantly.

2) The Ending

What can I say, the ending to The Last Of Us was pretty heavy. Even though it’s not as big a surprise nor as mentally stimulating as say Bioshock Infinite’s ending, I prefer it substantially. The whole sequence of realising how much your efforts weren’t really rewarded was big. Even bigger though was the change in Joel come the end. Just before he and Ellie entered the hospital, he made mention how they could just turn back, walk away and live as well as possible. Ellie wanted to complete the journey though, and right at the end, Joel has to straight up lie to get his way. Sacrificing Ellie was just too big a hurdle, and I personally feel the same. In my eyes, Ellie knows that Joel is lying, but the mystery is there and one wonders what the future could hold for them. Granted, it does open the game up to a sequel, but at least the main plot of the game was concluded. Even if no sequel ever materializes, you’ll always be left with this negative feeling of lies and distrust between the two main characters.

1) Ellie’s Gameplay Section

The best part of The Last Of Us for me was the gameplay sections where you controlled Ellie. This came during a time when you had already upgraded Joel a decent amount, and were thus accustomed to the abilities of his character. To then switch the game to Ellie’s perspective was massive, as Ellie is much more weaker than Joel, and has less weapons to work with. Her sections were probably the hardest in the game, especially as melee-ing wasn’t a real option for her either. You felt just way more vulnerable controlling Ellie than you ever did with Joel. Her gameplay sections were thus more tense and the ‘boss’ battle for her section was nicely done too. All in all, the difficulty of her section just made it all that more memorable to me. Excellent.

So, those are my top 5 reasons why The Last Of Us is awesome. Like I said earlier, it has its ups and downs to me, so it isn’t the greatest game in my eyes as opposed to how many reviewers have claimed it to be. Nevertheless, it was a great ride and I would totally be excited to play a sequel. What was most memorable to you guys? Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Are you looking forward to a sequel?